The Islamic GardenBarbie Converts to Islam

Selma
Cook

The Barbie Doll
has always been a controversial figure since she made her debut
on the American scene in 1959. She was designed after Ruth
Handler, one of the founders of Mattel Toys, took a trip to
Europe and stumbled upon the German "Lili Doll," a
busty blonde who wore lingerie and was not intended as a toy for
young children but as a trinket to be sold to men in bars and
other places of ill repute. Inspired, Handler bought the rights
to this doll and eventually came up with the Barbie Doll concept,
the all-American girl who would have it all: money, looks,
career, a fancy sports car and a handsome boyfriend. In addition,
it was also the first children's toy in the history of the
country to have been created with an alluring woman's figure.

In the years since
the sale of the first Barbie Doll, many concerns have been raised
about the message it conveys to young girls about their own
bodies and sense of self-worth. As the US has become more diverse
and more conscious about issues related to gender stereotyping,
race and weight, we have seen some attempts by Mattel to turn
Barbie into a more realistic representation of the all-American
woman. For example, there are now Latina and African-American
Barbies as well as Barbies who represent various other ethnic
groups. And now the latest change: Barbie will get a more
realistic figure which includes a larger stomach and a reduced
bust size after harsh criticisms from feminist organizations and
others who object to the traditional Barbie's exaggerated curves.

As a child, I
never had a Barbie doll and I have never considered buying one
for my daughter who is three years old. In making this decision,
I have not taken into account the legacy of Barbie's pornographic
origins (which I did not know about until recently), or even the
controversy surrounding her trim figure. It is just something
that I have not thought about...until recently, that is, when my
parents bought a Barbie as a gift for my daughter: not just any
Barbie but a Princess Barbie, complete with a pink
sequinned ballroom gown, shiny jewelry and all the trimmings.
Needless to say, my daughter loved it.

Within seconds,
however, the questions started about the doll's low-cut,
sleeveless dress. Why is her chest showing? Why aren't her arms
covered? As Muslims, we have always taken care to teach our
children about modest dress for men and women both and I could
see the wheels spinning in my daughter's head as she began to
suspect that this doll did not reflect a proper image of Islamic
modesty. She herself does not wear short sleeves so I was not
surprised at all to see her concerned about her new doll. Not
exactly sure how to react without over-reacting, my son saved me
with a question of his own: Where's this doll's hijab? (The
term hijab refers to the Islamic dress of Muslim women and is
often used in reference to the headscarf in paricular. You may
read more about it here.)

And that's what
gave me the idea to transform Barbie into a Muslim woman. Within
minutes, I found a piece of material which I sewed in order to
make a long, free-flowing hijab which served to conceal the
doll's hair as well as her shapely figure. Her chest was no
longer exposed and suddenly Barbie had a completely different
look. My daughter really loved this and said we should name this
new Muslima Fatimah, the name of her best friend. She then took
Fatimah and began playing with her, taking care to keep her hijab
in place as she introduced her new friend to her other toys and
dolls.

I have always
thought of Barbie as just another doll and I was not at all
offended by this gift from my parents which was a kind gesture on
their part. At the same time, I think it is important to make
sure that a girl's dolls reflect the values which are being
taught in the home because these dolls are used in intense
pretend-play which include role playing: this Barbie doll, for
example, is likely to be a mother, a sister and a peer to my
daughter as she thinks up different games to play with her and it
gives her a sense of security to have a doll which can be all of
these things without having to reconcile the unsettling fact that
her cleavage is exposed.